206 Chapter 7
(bahn jow) worked on it. Ban Zhao also wrote a guide called Lessons for Women,
which called upon women to be humble and obedient but also industrious.
Women’s Roles—Wives, Nuns, and ScholarsAlthough Ban Zhao gained fame
as a historian, most women during the Han Dynasty led quiet lives at home.
Confucian teachings had dictated that women were to devote themselves to their
families. However, women made important contributions to their family’s eco-
nomic life through duties in the home and work in the fields of the family farm.
Some upper-class women lived much different lives. As explained earlier, a few
empresses wielded great power. Daoist—and later, Buddhist—nuns were able to gain
an education and lead lives apart from their families. Women in aristocratic and land-
owning families also sometimes pursued education and culture. Some women ran
small shops; still others practiced medicine.The Fall of the Han and Their Return
In spite of economic and cultural advances, the Han emperors faced grave prob-
lems. One of the main problems was an economic imbalance caused by customs
that allowed the rich to gain more wealth at the expense of the poor.The Rich Take Advantage of the PoorAccording to custom, a family’s land was
divided equally among all of the father’s male heirs. Unless a farmer could afford to
buy more land during his lifetime, each generation inherited smaller plots. With such
small plots of land, farmers had a hard time raising enough food to sell or even to feed
the family. Because of this, small farmers often went into debt and had to borrow
money from large landowners, who charged very high interest rates. If the farmer
couldn’t pay back the debt, the landowner took possession of the farmer’s land.
Large landowners were not required to pay taxes, so when their land holdings
increased, the amount of land that was left for the government to tax decreased.
With less money coming in, the government pressed harder to collect money from
the small farmers. As a result, the gap between rich and poor increased.
Wang Mang Overthrows the HanDuring this time of economic change, politi-
cal instability grew. At the palace, court advisers, palace servants, and rival influ-
ential families wove complex plots to influence the emperor’s choice of who wouldHan Dynasty—202 B.C. to A.D. 220 Roman Empire—27 B.C. to A.D. 476
Empire replaced rival kingdoms
Centralized, bureaucratic government
Built roads and defensive walls
Conquered many diverse peoples in regions
bordering China
At its height—area of 1.5 million square
miles and a population of 60 million
Chinese became common written language
throughout empire
Ongoing conflict with nomads
Empire fell apart; restored by Tang Dynasty
in 618Empire replaced republic
Centralized, bureaucratic government
Built roads and defensive walls
Conquered many diverse peoples in
regions of three continents
At its height—area of 3.4 million square
miles and a population of 55 million
Latin did not replace other written
languages in empire
Ongoing conflict with nomads
Empire fell apart; never restoredComparing Two Great Empires: Han China and Rome
SKILLBUILDER:Interpreting Charts
1.Drawing ConclusionsHow long did each empire last? When did they both exist?
2.Comparing and ContrastingHow were Han China and the Roman Empire similar? Different?▲Chinese warrior ▲
Roman soldier